Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publishing Date: May 3rd 2011
Length: 496 pages
Genre: YA, dystopian novel

Summary: Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

(summary from Goodreads)
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Review

What first drew me to this book was the movie trailer. I know, I’m horrible. Totally going against readers rules.

I was in the movie theatre, watching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and the trailer for Divergent played. I was intrigued but also, turned away. My first thought was "this is gonna be just like Hunger Games."   I have never been so wrong!

After hearing more about this book, I decided to pick it up and read it. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I expected some adventure, a futuristic time period and not much else. But, after the first few chapters, I was already obsessed with the book. The story revolves around Beatrice Prior and her struggles trying to find her place. In dystopian Chicago, at the age of 16, she must choose one of five factions to join for life. Being from Abnegation, which is the faction honoring selflessness, she is humble, kind and self-denying. But, even while you’re learning about her character, you detect this hint of wanting more. She does not hate being in Abnegation, but does not like it much either.

I thoroughly enjoy the character of Beatrice, mostly because I can relate to her. She is unlike most famous female characters in that she begins meek. She is a weak girl who is scared, and without courage. But, she chooses Dauntless, where doing insane daredevil things is the norm. Like her, if I’m put in a tense situation where I am out of my comfort zone, I will go through with what I am forced to do. Perhaps that’s what builds her courage; the fact that she is constantly put into situations where she has no other choice. Beatrice (Tris) is a totally wonderful character.

The whole concept of the book did still remind me of The Hunger Games. But, in no way does that make this book unoriginal. Veronica Roth definitely adds her own twist and spunk to the plot, which makes the book just as well done as Hunger Games.

Another character I’d like to point out is Four. I loved him. Of course, you can guess right away that there could be something between him and Beatrice. Her feelings for him are certainly strong. But the process of their relationship is told in a fantastic, clever way. Obviously, he takes particular interest in her from the beginning, and towards the end their relationship materializes into a strong, loving and protective relationship. It just makes me wonder what happens in the other two books in this series, Insurgent and Allegiant.  But, overall, Four was probably my most-liked character besides Tris.

Verdict

In conclusion, this book is to be considered as my new favorite.  The action, adventure and romance kept me going all the way to the end.  It left me wanting to read more, and luckily I can, with two more books after this.  Overall, the book was incredibly amazing and kept me on my toes, just waiting to turn the next page.  The only negative thing about this book for me was the fact that it was very tense at some moments and is not for the faint of heart.  From a scene describing a boy getting his eye stabbed with a knife to Beatrice jumping off of a thousand foot "zipline," I'd suggest that if you have a fear of pain, blood or hights, to maybe skip this book.
But, in conclusion, this book was fantastic and I would read it again in a heartbeat.

Review by Cari Frantz

Check out the author's blog here:  http://www.veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/

Review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Directors: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
Written by: Judi Barrett
Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte, Andy Samberg

Synopsis (from IMDB):
After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.___________________________________________________

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was by far one of the best movies of 2009. This amazing animated film left viewers in love with every character and wanting more. The playful and witty atmosphere was wonderful, and very enjoyable to watch. This story jumped from the book pages of its original story (Written by Judi Barrett, 1978) and climbed into the TV screen with a bang!

To most peoples expectations, sequels are a downfall from the first one. First of all there is a line of assumption that the first one has set and is hard to beat. Because of that it makes sequels a bit more resistant to overcome that line of hope the first one had left. But many props and congratulations to the directors, Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, for not only going beyond that point but raising the bar twice as high. There is no doubt that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 not only made children but many adults filled with laughter throughout the entire movie.

Flint Lockwood, voiced by the wonderful Bill Hader, has a chance to live his dream working side by side by his ultimate hero, Chester V (Will Forte). So he decides to follow in his foot steps and takes that job. Flint has always wanted to be like Chester V and after he sees that his hero is counting on him, he lets nothing stand in his way to help him. Flint is told that the FLDSMDFR is still operational and is destroying his and his family and friends home on the island. It is up to him to save Swallow Falls. So Flint, Sam Sparks (Anna Faris ), Baby Brent (Andy Samberg), Manny (Benjamin Bratt), Earl (Terry Crews), Mr. Lockwood (James Caan), and of course his best pal Steve (Neil Patrick Harris), all go off to save their beloved home.

There are many adventures once they reach the island of Swallow Falls. Flints machine is now changing the food into animals- resulting in making Foodimals. Everyone thinks that these creatures are dangerous and must find a way to stop them. However you begin to find these foodimals to be overly adorable. A special, captivating one by the name of Berry lends great help to Flint and the gang. Their journey will suck you in and have your fingers crossed, hoping that they all make it safely and that their home will be restored.

Through out this ingenius story Flint learns about friendship and what it means to trust other people. He learns about family and the importance of what it means. Sometimes what we value most in life is clouded over with pride we have for something else, or in Flint's case, someone else. Flint discovers this and realizes that he has everything that he could ever have asked for. Overall this film is exciting and will always have you either on the edge of your seat or your head falling back from laughter. Wether its for the fun story of adventure, the hilarious puns, Berry's cute character, or just Flints beautiful dedication to his friends, you will enjoy this tale immensely.

Review by Hannah Gibbons

Review: Frozen (2013)

Directors:  Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Written by:  Jennifer Lee

Inspired by "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Anderson

Cast:  Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad

Synopsis (from IMDB):
After the kingdom of Arendelle is cast into eternal winter by the powerful Snow Queen Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), her sprightly sister Anna (Kristen Bell) teams up with a rough-hewn mountaineer named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his trusty reindeer Sven to break the icy spell. 

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First of all, I'd like to point out that I love Disney.  Take me to Disneyland and leave me there, I'd probably be the happiest kid on earth.  The love doesn't stop at the parks.  The majority of films that I own are Disney movies.  From the stories they express to the creative humor that goes into their classic tales always amaze me.  So, as I walked into the movie theater to see Frozen for the first time, I knew I was about to see something good.  Let me be the first to say that I was not wrong in my expectations.  It was better then great.  It was fantastic.  Disney has created yet another masterpiece.

To begin with, the movie is based off of Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Snow Queen.  Never having read this particular story, I went to the all-knowing Wikipedia to do some research.  It wasn't very useful, to be honest.  There really isn't much resemblance between the two, except for a few minor details.  Since Frozen was inspired by The Snow Queen, it's not crucial to compare the two.

Additionally, the movie has a fantastic cast.  First of all, Josh Gad gave a thrilling performance as the voice of Olaf, the sweet & lovable snowman.  In the very first scene when Olaf is introduced, its hard not to fall for this adorable, hilarious snowman.  He is the comical relief.  In a hilarious depiction of his desire to experience "summer" and "heat," he belts out his song titled "In Summer," which had me bouncing in my chair and smiling to the catchy tune.  Whenever you see him enter a scene, you can relax knowing that side-splitting witty lines and expressions are about to take place.  By the end of the movie, we're all wishing we had our own personal Olaf to give us his warm hugs.  Secondly, Idina Menzel (Queen Elsa) and Kristen Bell (Anna) top the vocals for musical performance.  Both women are incredible singers and have the vocal talent to go hand in hand with their characters.

From the beginning, it was obvious that the directors and animators had worked previously on Tangled (2010).  Frozen had similar love interests, similar main characters and a similar style to Tangled.  A spunky girl just waiting to go out and explore and overcome that obstacle in her way.  Falling in love with the man she never dreamed she would in the first place.  Interestingly, you can even spot Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder in the crowd going into Elsa's coronation day party.

The plot was different and twisted compared to many of Disney's stories of princesses and magic and knights in shining armor.  To begin with, the older sister, Queen Elsa, has no love interest or ever shows a remote care in the matter of getting married.  Younger sister Anna, however, has her own spirited ideas of love and marriage, which are expressed in the marvelous duet, "Love is An Open Door."  But even for her, the motives and ideas she thinks she has locked in place certainly are not what she expects in the end.  Secondly, in this particular Disney film, they did a wonderful job at the general rule of storytelling, which is to "show" and not "tell."  Just through simple words and short phrases, we are able to see what the characters mean.  A nod should be given to the writers in the comedy department as well.  Many scenes had me giggling and dying to see the movie again.  

In conclusion, this film was enjoyable on so many levels.  The moments when we are able to see the portrayal of deep emotion and beautiful virtues are quite moving.  Sisterly love and devotion is displayed violently well throughout the film.  Friendship, trust and hope is also illustrated.  Additionally, an honorable mention to the animators for the stunning animation and gorgeous scenery.   Overall, Frozen will captivate your heart and leave you inspired, excited and, quite possibly, leave a smile on your face as the credits role on the screen.

Review by Cari Frantz